Hi ricko. Thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my post. You didn’t have to, and I appreciate that you did.
Not a typo and yes I meant what I wrote. The quotes from the Mormon archeologists have been posted by me on this forum many times before. If they were inaccurate, your fellow Mormons would have challenged it which they never did.
OK. I’ll take your word for it that you meant what you typed and it wasn’t a misstatement, although I am a bit astounded by your claim. Just to clarify, when I say Americas, I am making a broad statement about the American Continent as a whole. I’ll post your statement just so I’m not missing anything here. You said: “All major archeologists including several Mormon archeologists agree that there is no evidence of any major civilization in the Americas.” Now, did you mean the United States of America or all of the Americas (i.e., North America, South America, and Central America)? If you meant United States of America, then I agree, at least based on what I know, that there is not evidence of major ancient civilizations here. However, if you meant that there is no evidence of major ancient civilizations in all of the Americas (that’s North America, South America, Central America) then that is not true. There is the Aztec Empire, the Mayan Empire, the Olmec Empire, the Zapotec Empire, etc., all of this were major civilizations that existed here on the American continent. They had major cities, in some cases with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. They had commerce, roads, reading and writing. They understood math and astronomy. They had great wars. The question of there being a major ancient civilization in the Americas (the American Continent) is not in dispute. It is a indisputable fact. Here is a link to a Wikipedia article on the subject matter. You can find plenty of other information out on the web if you don’t trust Wikipedia:
(
History of the Americas).
You should understand the relevancy of the years.
I think we will both agree that the Holy Spirit is truth. There are not different or conflicting truths when it comes to God and the Holy Spirit. From your statement we agree on that. Where we part company is the teachings of the LDS, such as baptism for the dead, the BOM being an invention of Joseph Smith, multiple Gods and many other teachings that conflict with Catholic and mainstream Christianity teachings. Therefore one of us (Christianity or LDS) is being lead by a false spirit, do you not agree?
I really don’t understand the relevancy of the years thing. Can you explain it to me, please?
There is also a third possibility, by-the-way. It is possible that both of us are wrong. But, in any case, I wouldn’t say that you are being lead by a false spirit. I don’t know that. If anything, I would simply assume (until I know otherwise) that you just don’t know anything different.
I understand there are some differences in what I believe and what you believe in. I also know that I’m a Christian and I know that the Church of Jesus Christ is a Christian church, but I understand that you probably are comparing LDS Christianity with Catholic Christianity, and there are differences there too, on how one is defining Christian. But, I don’t like to focus on our differences. I know that they exist, else what would be the point in having a Church that claims to have restored God’s church if it agreed with everything that was already in existence? If people want to disagree with the Mormon religion, I at least want them to disagree based on accurate information versus misunderstandings and/or misrepresentations, and that is probably my main reason for posting here. To help with people’s understanding of the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS.
Now, I consider myself a person of a sound understanding, although not the smartest person on the planet. I’ve never been a follower in society and I’ve always been an independent thinker. I haven’t kept my church’s tenants perfectly through-out my life (not even close). I’ve rebelled against God and what I have been taught. I’ve committed horrible sins. I’ve consciously rebelled against people I’ve been taught were prophets and apostles. So, I’ve tasted somewhat of the other side and I’ve learned the hard way (instead of just trusting and having faith) to recognize when evil is tempting me versus when the good Spirit is prompting me. I haven’t been fooled in to believing the Mormon church is true. I have come to learn God’s voice when he speaks. Although I have much to work out still, as far as my weaknesses and tendency to sin, I do know when the Spirit testifies of something to me. His voice is unmistakable, and anyone who has ever felt His promptings, will know how I feel. You, yourself, have probably felt the Spirit many times in your life. Giving you counsel, operating in your mind and heart, pulling you towards what is good and righteous. You’ve probably felt the Spirit testify to you that Jesus is your Lord, your King, and your Savior. If so, then you know what I’m talking about. The devil will never entice us to do good or to love the Savior. I do know, sadly by experience, what the devil does entice us to do and it is diametrically opposite to how I feel when I feel God’s Spirit whisper to me. When I’ve read from the Book of Mormon and pondered it’s words and obeyed God’s laws, I have felt that familiar assurance of the Spirit, that I have come to recognize from my life experiences, testify to me that the words are true. This is how I know that the book is true and how can I deny the voice that I recognize to be God’s voice speaking to me through His Spirit, this same voice that I have come to recognize from among other voices, knowing the distinction between each? I cannot.
Kind Regards,
Finrock
